Improvement in preserve-cans



MARTIN & NICHOLSON.

*Preserve Can.

1N0. 22,962. Patented'Feb. 15, 1859.

iaiaia%x PETERS. Pnomiithographevz \Vqshmglcn. D, c

i in securely sealing them, because of the irtallic cover is used, which is the only practi- IMPROVEMENT IN PATENT tries.

JAS. F. MARTIN AND HENRY C. NICHOLSON, OF MOUNT ASHINGTON, OHIO.

PRESERVE-CANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 22,962. dated February 15, 18119.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J AMES F. llIARlI N and HENRY G. Nrononson, both of Mount \Vashington, Hamilton county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Provision-Can for the Preservation of Substances by Hermetically Sealing; and we hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

To the use of self-sealing cans as at present constructed there are many and serious objections, which will be apparent when we come to consider the many different kinds of mate rials of which they are composed. Seltsealing cans such as are now in use may be divided. into two classesto wit, mineral and metallic. Familiar examples of the former are earthenware and glass jars, and of the second tin. To the first of these housekeepers raise the serious and reasonable objections of their frangibility, and of the great diffi culty experienced regularity of their shrinkage in cooling after being heated for the purpose of expelling the air, and also because of the difficulty of forming a good and lasting connection between metal and earthenware or glass when a mecable mode that can be adopted, an illustration of which may be found in the glass jars in common use for the preservation of prunes. Another objection to the use ofpottery-ware arises from the glaze of such ware, because of the presence of large quantities of poisonous metallic oxides, which are easily acted upon by the acids of the fruits, 820., intended to be preserved. In reference to the second or tin cans, all persons at all conversant with the nature and properties of fruit will readily and instantly perceive howlittle adapted are any of the baser metals for their preservation, because of the presence of the vegetable acids contained in them, which act vigorously upon such metals, corroding the cans, entirely destroying the finer and more delicate flavor of the fruit, and communicating to it a disagreeable metallic taste, at once unpalatable and unwholesome to those using them. Another serious objection to the tin can'is the impossibility of perfectly excluding the air. The numerous sol tiered joints and the liability oftin to become dented in use cause a large percentage of the true there are many who, rather than be without the fruit, &c., still use the tin in preference to the mineral jars, because of the liability of the latter to break with heat or by any accidental concussion, and because of the liability of stoneware, although glazed, to have minute blow-holes, which, while theyv may be imperceptible to the eye, are still sufficient to afford communication with and circulation of the air.

To provide a can thatis not subject to these objections, one that will be at once strong, not liable to be broken, impervious to the air, and not subject to the corroding action of the acids contained in the fruits, &c., is the object of our improvement; and it consists in construct ing hermetically-sealed fruit or provision cans of iron or other metal possessing the requisite strength and rigidity, lined on the inside with a vitreous enamel, capable of withstanding the chemical action of the acids of the fruit.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a can embodying our improvement. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the under side of the cover. Fig. 3 is a side view of the cover.

b represents a screw-thread formed round the exterior of the mouth of the can; d d d, lugs on the cover, which engage with the screwthread 12, so that the turning of the cover will cause it to be closed tightly down; c, an indiarubber or other gasket, which may be interposed between the can and cover, to assist in forming an air-tight joint; f f, studs projecting from the top of the cover to turn the latter by means of a suitable key. Both the can and the cover are constructed of iron or other suitable metal, either cast or pressed, and have their wholeinterior surfaces, 0, covered with a vitreous enamel, capable of resisting the ac tion of the acids contained in the substances to be preserved.

In enameling the cans, we do not intend to confine Ourselves to any specific receipt, so long as the enamel is one suitable for this purposethat is to say, not liable to be acted on by the acids contained in the fruits, &c. An enamel suitable for this purpose may be made by compounding, in theusual way adopted by enamelers, two pounds ten ounces of glass, one pound fourteen ounces of sand, three pounds fourteen ounces of oxide of tin, two pounds four ounces of borax,two pounds twelve ounces of soda, one pound two ounces of saltpeter, eight ounces of white clay, one ounce of chalk, and ten grains of oxide of cobalt, and thesein themselves may be varied in their relative proportions or either substituted by their chemical equivalents, or other articles added, this being merely one of a number of receipts, here deemed unnecessary to describe, suitable for the purpose. Enamels such as this may be applied in any suitable and efficient manner known to those skilled in the art of enameling metals.

A can thus constructed can be made of less weight than glass or stone ware ot' the same capacity, and still possess almost incomparably greater strength, and at the same timebe as free as glass ware fromliabilityto corrosion by acids. It is therefore economical, wholesome, readily cleansed, and admits of being used season after season, as long as desired. It admits also of being constructed with an aperture of the fuil size of the top, which, as well as adding to its convenience in use, greatly facilitates its 1; ansportation, when empty, by nesting either in assorted sizes or otherwise.

I It is believed-that anon-corrosive hermetically sealed provision can has never before been produced capable of excluding the atmosphere from its contents after being subj ected to the frosts of an arctic winter or adapted to preserve perishable articles of diet with sufficient economy and success as to be extensively used for this purpose in long sea-voyages.

lVe do not claim, broadly, the construction of a hermetically-sealed fruit or provision can; nor do we claim-coating vessels with vitreous enamel, both being well known and in common use; but I \Ve claim as a new and useful article of manufacturel. A fruit or provision can to be hermetically sealed, constructed of metal lined on the inside with a vitreous enamel capable of withstanding the action of the acids contained in the fruits, &c., to be preserved, substantially in the manner set forth.

2. The combination of a metallic cover, vitreously enameled on the inside, with a fruit or provision can, substantially as set forth.

In testimonyoi' which invention we hereunto set our hands.

JAMES F. MARTIN. ll. G. NICHOLSON.

Attest:

Oc'rs. KNIGHT, AND. J. HUSTON. 

